Hi,

I've recently decided that I might/will dust off some of my old RC gear and take it all up again. I previously raced in the early to mid 90's in electric offroad. I have recently discovered that my brother has alot of my old RC stuff back home in Horsham and I had this silly idea that I would put it back into service. so I have some questions, I picked up the latest copy of Racing lines (very different mag these days) and noticed that it was all nitro and on road, with very little reference to electric off road, is it dead? if it still lives, whats the car to have these days (4wd & 2wd), what has changed with regard to battery and motor technology (NiMH or LiPO now, it was NiCAD back then) and what classes are being raced now. that should get me started, otherwise I have to wait until I finish my weekend job in a couple of weeks so I can make my way to melbourne to a meeting. I'm in geelong, and I think its only on road here.

Chris

Welcome aboard Chris. Racing Lines does cover a lot more gas/on road type stuff purely because its so popular with the bashers out there. Electric Offroad is alive and as good as it has been probably since you stopped racing. The NSW Titles were the biggest event seen anywhere in Oz this year with a heap of people like yourself making comebacks.

In terms of cars, 2wd is the same, you cant go past an Associated B4 or Losi XXX-CR. 4wd has grown massively in recent times with cars like the BJ4 WE made by JConcepts which has basically won every major race since its release at the worlds last year, Losi is competitive with it's XXX4, and the new Yokomo MR4-BX. These cars can win on any given day. The Japanese are getting back into the fray seriously with Kyosho building an offroad team that keeps getting stronger with Tamiya and Hot Bodies currently running around with super fast prototypes set for release in the near future.

Batteries have changed heaps, but anything with 3700mah will be more than enough for any offroad class, the GP and IB cells are regarded as the best. The GP's are very durable, the IB cells have a little more power but can be a little prone to venting.

Classes are Stock and Mod, Stock's now are rebuildable 27degree motors, Brushless motors are allowed in Mod, but the technology has had a few teething issues.

Hope that helps

thanks for the quick response, sounds like all the major players are still there. I think I might need a new car, my brother has held on to my old cougar 200 but it needs some parts replaced and I think that could be an issue. stock has rebuildable motors now, thats a change. cool, I'll get my stuff back and maybe head to a meet at keilor or something before I start commiting huge cash and time. I think that would have to be the nearest track to me.

Matey, if you just want to start getting back into it, before you make the investment on a new car, then by all means look at the ole Cougar.... there's a bit of a groundswell at the moment (a bit, not a lot) of interest in the older Schuey buggies, which means that resources (parts, bodies, etc) are becoming more easily available. There's a few of us refettling old Cougar2s, ProCats and TopCats, BossCats and Cat2000s.... so don't feel you need the Best to get back going. You can always take new batteries to a new car!!!!

If you need any 2000 parts, let me know and I'll pass your details onto a mate, who has a heap of C2000 stuff....

Alex

thanks, I was pretty keen on getting the old girl up and running anyway, spent heaps on it when it was new, full CF decks, blah blah. i think its biggest issue is bearings and transmission. the drive cups are a little worn from memory, and it needs new drive shafts. but I'll have to wait until I get it back to see whats what. I'll let you know if I need bits. thanks again. I suppose I'll need new packs and a new charger too. the old ones will be nuked I'd say. whats the go with current tyres? anything in particular thats good. I seem to remember Schumacher greens being the thing to use when I finished. are most people using FM radios now?

O.K. so I went out and bought Xtreme RC cars magazine, much more helpful. I couldn't find RC car action, I assume its still around. definetly getting the bug back!

Although we dont actually run electric off-road, Here in Bendigo and at Shepparton we started 1/10 open. which is a class open to any 1/10 scale vehicle Nitro or Electric. Class is starting to build so once numbers are big enough we can devide the classes. With a track also looking to open at castlemaine I'm sure the class will run there as well. If youre interested in travelling to the country.

thanks, I'm keen to travel around to see whats on offer everywhere. not a huge rush, so I will definetly come to bendigo. I remember going to castlemain to race a couple of times, it was at a private property though. I can't remember the family's name for the life of me. was good though. I am originally from Horsham, so none of the action is as far away as it used to be

CJ,

The McLures.......

Keilor is up and running 1-10th ELECTRIC. 2nd sunday of the month.

Knox runs 1st and 3rd Sunday.

the McLures, thats it. that was a good track. good to hear Keilor is up and running. I always liked the keilor track.

alright, so in an attempt to be clever and forecast a technological change, I'm wondering about peoples opinions on batteries. since my stuff has been in a box for over 10 years, I'm going to need new packs and charger. Obviously NiMH are the go at the moment, but whats the word on LiPO. I've seen a few packs advertised, but it would seem apparent to me (based on the last time I read the rules) that they would be illegal, based on the voltage being 7.4V and that they are a completley different setup with regard to the cells and config of the pack. So, should I bother with getting a charger that can handle LiPO as well as the existing technologies, and should I bother spending much on NiMH packs if change is in the winds. I suppose the tech would most likely find its way into the modified class first, so it wouldn't impact a lowley hack such as myself, but things change and if its at all evident like this would seem to be, then maybe?
Sorry about the length of this post, (i just made it longer with the sorry and this very sentence).

Murph I wouldnt worry too much about Lipo's yet. If they get approved for racing its probably some time off (think years not months) so I think you're safe going for NiMh.
That said, some chargers will handle both. Loads of people use the Duratrax ICE and it will do both for sure.

thanks Tony. I was keen on a Tekin charger, used to have one and it was great. anyone have any experience with them?

just wondering if someone can point me in the direction of the best shop to get my bits and pieces. shock oil, tyres, diff grease, motors, batteries etc. I'm in Geelong but I think I'll have to travel up the highway to get anything. My stuff turned up today, and there's a few bits missing.